
BookX^ 




r 



U.S. JS' 



58th Congress! 
3d Session I 



House of Representatives 



I Document 

( No. 470 



GEORGE W. CROFT 

(Late a Representative from South Carolina) 



Memorial Addresses Delivered in the 
House of Representatives and Senate 



Third Session of the 
Fifty-eighth Congress 



Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing 



WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFnCE:1905 




^■^^^^i^i^i'"^^':' 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Pngf 

rroceedint;s in the House 5 

Prayer by Rev. Henr_v N. Couden ■. 5 

Praj-er by Rev. Henry N. Couden 9 

.\ddress of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 1 1 

.•\ddress of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina i6 

Address of Mr. French, of Idaho ^7 

Address of Mr. Johnson, of South Carolina 3° 

Address of Mr. Aiken, of .South Carolina 33 

Proceedings in the Senate 39 

Address of Mr. Latimer, of South Carolina -12 

3 



Death of Representative George W. Croft 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE 

Thursday, March lo, igo^.. 

The House met at 12 o'clock m. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry X. Couden, D. D. , offered the 
following prayer: 

We invoke Thy blessing. Almighty God, our Heavenly 
Father, upon these Thy servants, that, guided by the light of 
truth and strengthened by the power from on high, all the 
deliberations of this House to-day may be in consonance with 
Thy holy will. 

A great sorrow has come to us in the death of one of our 
Members, and our hearts go out in great .sympathy to the 
bereaved family. We pray Thee that they may be upheld and 
sustained by the hope of immortality. 

Hear us, O Lord, and bless us, in the name of Jesus Christ, 
our Savior. Amen. 

DE.\TH OF HON. GEORGE W. CROFT. 

Mr. FiNLEV. Mr. Speaker, the sad duty is mine to announce 
to this House the death of the Hon. George W. Croft, a 
Repre.sentative from the State of South Carolina, who died 
this morning at 7.30 o'clock at his residence in this city. Of 
his worth, of his virtues I shall not speak now, but at some 
future time I shall ask the House to consider that matter in a 
suitable manner. 

5 



6 Proceedings in tlic House 

As a mark of respect to him, I offer the following reso- 
lutions. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from vSouth Carolina offers 
the following resohitions, which the Clerk will report: 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House of Representatives has heard with profound 
sorrow of the death of the Hon. G. \V. CroFT, a Representative from the 
State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That the Speaker appoint a committee of thirteen Members 
to attend the funeral services. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased Member the House do now adjourn. 

Mr. OvERSTREET. Mr. Speaker, before the question is put, 
and in view of the special order under which the Hou.se has 
been proceeding, having fixed 4 o'clock this afternoon for a 
vote, I think it proper to ask unanimous consent that the order 
heretofore fixed for to-day shall continue to another day. I 
had said that I would make the sugge.stion that it apply 
to-morrow until it was suggested that to-morrow being pension 
dav- the committee did not desire to be displaced. I therefore 
ask unanimous consent that the order applicable to to-daj- 
shall be available and continue tintil Sattirda}'. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 

Mr. Moon, of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman 
from Indiana will allow me to suggest, I think the better idea 
would be to let Saturday be takeu for pensions and the House 
execute the pending order to-morrow. 

Mr. OvERSTREET. I should prefer to let a representative of 
the Pension Committee state as to that. 

Mr. Gibson. I have no objection. 

The Speaker. The gentleman from Indiana asks unani- 
mous consent that the order applicable to-daj- shall be 
applicable to-morrow, and that Saturday be devoted to pensions 



Proceedings in the House , 7 

under the rule. Is there objection? [After a pause.] The 
Chair hears none. 

The question is on agreeing to the first two re.sohitioiis 
offered by the gentleman from South Carolina. 

The resolutions were unauimou.sly agreed to. 

The Speaker announced the appointment of the following 
connnittee: D. E. Finley, Wyatt Aiken, J. T. Johnson, George 
S. L,egare, R. B. vScarborough, A. F. Lever, Henry C. Louden- 
slao-er, George R. Patterson, William Richardson, Frank A. 
McLain, Henry A. Houston, Charles H. Weisse, Amos H. 
Jackson, and Joseph C. Sibley. 

The Spe.\ker. The question is on agreeing to the third 
resolution. 

The resolution was agreed to; and accordingly (at 12 o'clock 
and 10 minutes p. m.) the House adjourned to meet to-morrow 

at 12 m. 

March ii, 1904. 

mess.a.ge from the sex.a.te. 
The message also announced that the Senate had passed the 
following resolutions; 

Resolved. That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. George \V. Croft, late a Representative of 
the Second district of the State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That a committee of six Senators be appointed by the Presi- 
dent pro tempore to join a connnittee on the part of the House of Repre- 
sentatives to take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased. ' 

Resolved, That the Senate communicate these resolutions to the House 
of Representative's. 

Resolved, As a. further mark of respect to memory of the deceased, that 
the Senate do now adjourn. 

And that in compliance with the foregoing the President pro 

tempore had appointed as said committee Mr. Tillman, Mr. 

Latimer, Mr. Fulton, Mr. Clarke of Arkansas, Mr. Hopkins, 

and Mr. McLaurin. 



8 , Proceedings in the House 

February 9, 1905. 

Mr. FixLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
at the close of the exercises in meniorj' of the late Repre- 
sentative Mahoney memorial exercises be held on the life and 
character of the late George W. Croft, a Representative 
from the State of South Carolina. 

The Speaker. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 

Sunday, Ffluu(u-y 26. 1905. 

The House was called to order at 12 o'clock noon by 
William J. Browning, Chief Clerk, who announced that the 
Speaker had designated the Hon. William P. Hepburn as 
Speaker pro tempore for this da>-. 

Mr. Hepburn took the chair as Speaker pro tempore. 

The Chaplain, Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

Our Father who art in heaven, we thank Thee for that deep 
and ever-abidiug faith which looks up to Thee as the creator, 
upholder, and sustainer of all, and for that eternal hope which 
binds us to Thee by ties which time nor space can sever. 
"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things 
to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall 
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ 
Jesus, our Lord." For without the.se angels from Thy heart, 
O God, life would be indeed a desert without a .single oa.sis 
to cheer the weary traveler on his way. With these even the 
mystery of death is solved, so when it comes and takes away 
our dear ones we can throw our.selves into the everlasting arms 
and feel the warm pulsations of a heavenly Father's heart 
and say: 

Theie is no death! What seems so is transition; 

This life of mortal breath 
Is but a suburb of the life elysian, 

Whose portal we call Death. 



lo Memorial Addresses 

So send, we beseech Thee, our heavenly Father, these 
angels to comfort the hearts of the colleagues, friends, and 
families of those for whom we have gathered here to-day in 
loving remembrance, and Thine be the praise forever, through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

THE LATE HON. GEORGE WILLIAM CROFT. 

Mr. FiNLEV. Mr. Speaker, I offer the following resolutions. 

The vSpe.^ker pro tempore. The gentleman from vSouth 
Carolina [Mr. Finley] offers the resolutions which the Clerk 
will report. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

Resolved, That in pursuance of the special order heretofore adopted, 
the House now proceed to pay tribute to the memory of Hon. GEORGE \\". 
Croft, late a Member of this House from the State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public career, the House 
at the conclusion of the exercises to-day shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resohitions to the vSenate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a cop3' of these resolutions to the family 
of the deceased. 

Mr. Finley. Mr. Speaker, before proceeding with the special 
order, I ask unanimous con.sent that leave to print remarks 
relating to these ceremonies be granted to Members of the 
House for twentj^ daj's. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The gentleman from South 
Carolina [Mr. Finley] asks unanimous consent that leave to 
print remarks relating to these ceremonies be granted to 
Members of the House for twent}' days. Is there objection? 

There was no objection. 



Address of Mr. Fiiile\\ of South Carolina 1 1 



Address of Mr. Finley, of South Carolina 

Mr. Speaker: Oh the loth day of March last the sad 
duty devolved upon nie to announce to the House the death 
of Hon. George William Croft, late a Representative 
from the State of South Carolina. I gave notice then, Mr. 
Speaker, that at some future time I would ask the House 
to join in suitable services commemorative of him and as a 
proper recognition of his di.stingui.shed public career. 

George William Croft was born in Newberry County, 
S. C, on the 20th day of December, 1846. In 1864, when 
he was a cadet at the South Carolina Military Academy, his 
education was interrupted h\ rea.son of the corps of cadets 
being mustered into the Confederate .service. In this service 
he continued until the clo.se of the war. Subsequently he 
spent two years at the University of \'irginia. In 1869 he 
was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his pro- 
fession at Aiken, S. C. and from then until his death he 
lived there. Sitting in my seat on this floor yesterday I 
listened to eloquent and eulogistic addresses on the lives and 
characters of Austin and Houston, two men of all others most 
honored Vjv the State of Texas. My distinguished friend 
from Missouri [Mr. Clark] , in his matchless and inimitable 
style, alluded to the fact that State pride was a characteristic 
of the people of South Carolina, Ma.ssachusetts, \'irginia 
and Texas. 

No State can be truly great unless her citizens excel in 
patrioti-sni and love of truth. Judged by this standard. South 
Carolina can properly Vie termed "the imperial State," .second 
to none in all that goes to constitute true greatness. The 



12 Life and Character of Gcoj'ge JJ\ Croff 

proud boast of her citizens is that in making the history 
of this greatest of great nations this State has always occu- 
pied a foremost position. In declaring for freedom in the 
Revolutionary war she paid the penalty in that struggle of 
having every section of her territory a battlefield and suf- 
fered the loss of at least three- fourths of all the destructible 
property in her borders. In 1812, when Briti.sh tyranny had 
become unendurable, South Carolina .spoke through her most 
gifted and distinguished son, John C. Calhoun, and forced 
matters to the issue of battle. In the war with Mexico she 
•sent 1,000 men, the valor and chivalry of the State, led by 
the brave and gallant Pierce Butler. These followed Gen- 
eral Scott from Veracruz to the City of Mexico. In storm- 
ing that city a forlorn hope of sixteen from this regiment 
were the first inside of the walls. This fact I have from 
the lips of James A. Thomas, of Harmony, S. C, vi'ho 
participated in that frightful assault. 

Likewise, in the greatest of all wars from the standpoint of 
loss of life and material wealth, the memorable and ever-to-be- 
regretted war between the States, she lagged not behind, and, 
Mr. Speaker, in the last war, not the greatest that this country 
has engaged in — in the war with Spain -she was among the 
first to send her sons to uphold the flag of the Union and to 
give freedom to the oppre.ssed Cubans. The one thing that 
more than all others has given the State of .South Carolina her 
proud po.sition is the fact that in times of stress on all great 
issues her people stand as a unit. They are united. A notable 
illustration of this is that notwithstanding a large and respect- 
able minority of her citizens were opposed to .secession in i860, 
in the ci\-il war that followed South Carolina .stands alone as 
the only State in the Union that did not furnish a single regi- 
ment or even a single company to the Union Army. 



Address of Mr. Finlcy, of Soii/Ji Carolina 1 3 

This tuiity of the citizens of the State on all great occasions 
is the one thing more than all others that causes the sons of 
the State, wherever they go, at all times and in all places, not 
only to be proud, but, if need be, assert the fact that they are 
South Carolinians. 

George William Croft in his life measured up to the 
standard required of her sons by South Carolina. A beardless 
youth in time of war, he answered the call of the State and 
shouldered his nuisket and marched to the front, where, as a 
brave and gallant soldier, he performed his full duty. When 
the war was over he accepted the result in good faith and 
gave to his country the best efforts of his life. Whenever his 
time and his talents were demanded he gave them freely and 
without stint. During the reconstruction period in South 
Carolina, eight years of licen.se, debauchery, and misgovern- 
ment by vicious carpetbaggers and ignorant negroes, during 
which time the people of the State were plundered under the 
forms of law of an amount equal to one-fourth of the taxable 
property in the State, George William Ckoft, by word and 
work, performed his full duty in redeeming the State and plac- 
ing the government once more in the hands of those best fitted 
to admini.ster it. Faithfully and efficiently he .served his peo- 
ple both as a citizen and as an official, and right here I nia>- 
add that the love and esteem accorded to George William 
Croft by the people of his home county, Aiken, by the people 
of the Second Congressional di.strict, was not confined to the 
color of a man's skin. White and lilack regarded him as a 
citizen wise, courageous, and a lover of truth and right. They 
looked to him as an exemplar, and all his people, without 
regard to race, without regard to party, admired, loved, 
respected, and trusted him. 



14 Life and Character of George H^. Croft 

However, it is oiil^- proper for me to say that Colonel Ckoft 
excelled as a lawyer. Now, to enter into a statement of his 
work, extending over a period of thirty-five years, from 1869 
to 1904, the time of his death, would be out of place here. 
I shall not do that. But it is sufficient for me to say that for 
thirty-five years he practiced his profession with distinguished 
ability and success. 

The South Carolina bar is one which includes in its member- 
ship men whose life work entitles them to a first place among 
the juri-sts of the nation. His brethren of the bar recognized 
the ability of Colonel Croft and his great legal attainments 
bj' electing him more than once to the presidency of the State 
Bar Association. 

After a heated and strenuous contest for the nomination, 
being opposed by strong men, one of whom was attorney- 
general of the State and another the solicitor of his circuit, 
he was elected to the Fifty-eighth Congress. During the 
short term, a little more than a j'ear, that he represented 
his district in Congress he studied the wants of his people 
and gave them efficient and satisfactory service. 

I happen to know that one matter dear to the heart of 
Colonel Croft, and to which he devoted time and attention, 
was the reclamation of the .swamp lands of his State, and it 
was his hope that in some way he might be instrumental 
and helpful in bringing that about. So far as I know, he 
originated this matter. 

Mr. Speaker, the highest proof of the lo\-e and esteem in 
which a Representative should be held is that which his peo- 
ple accord him. We have numbered among Members of this 
Hou.se the Hon. T. G. Croft, a .son of the Hon. George 
William Croft. He was sent here by the overwhelming 
vote of the district over three competitors to fill out the 



Address of A/r. Fi>//c\\ of Soit/k Carolina 15 

unexpired term of his distinguished father. A greater tribute 
than this the people of the Second Congressional district of 
South Carolina could uot paj- to the memory of Colonel 
Ckoft. 

Mr. Speaker, when paying tril)ute to the memory and public 
services of a deceased Member I feel that .something should be 
said in reference to him as an individual. Colonel Croft in 
his dealings with his fellow-men was an honest man, kind to 
all, approachable by all, loved by the poor for the reason that 
he was their friend. 

He was a man of .strong religious convictions. I remember 
well when he lay upon his deathbed at his residence on East 
Capitol street in this city; I visited him time after time and 
found him suffering in a way that seemed to be past human 
endurance. Through it all he was patient and hopeful, and 
bore it \vith great fortitude and Christian resignation. He 
impressed me then as he had never impressed me before with 
his greatness as a man. In order to be truly tried a man nui.st 
be doubly tried — in adver.sity as well as in prosperity, in pain as 
well as in pleasure. So when GEORGE William Croft lay 
upon his dying bed, suffering as men can not suffer and live, 
he gave evidence high and strong of the nobility of soul, of the 
strength of character that was in him. 

He served his God and his country faithfully and well. 
' ' Peace to his ashes. ' ' 



1 6 Life and Cliaractcr of George If. Croft 



Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina 

Mr. Speaker: Life is a frail arch uniting two eternities — the 
unknown worlds — that from whence we come when life is 
vouchsafed to us and that to which we go when, in infinite 
wisdom, life is denied us. It is the day, begun in the sunshine 
of the glorious morning and ending in the melancholy shades 
of evening. It is the smile and the tear, the banquet hall and 
the silence of the tomb; alike a triumphant song and a mourn- 
ful elegy. 

In the brief time allotted for the pilgrimage between the 
eternities man writes the story of his life and records the 
evidence of the manner in which he has used the opportunities 
given him. He builds his own monument and writes upon it 
his own epitaph, giving the basis upon which the future niu.st 
pronounce judgment as to his true worth and character. The 
record when once made must stand through all the ages, 
death's seal imparting to it absolute veritj'. Ardent friends 
may exaggerate the virtues and lessen the faults, but neither 
human kindness nor human malevolence can add to or sub- 
tract from the record, for the making of which he alone is 
responsible. 

The greatest of all poets has said: 

The evil that men do lives after them; 
The good is oft interred with their bones. 

That is the dark picture and the judgment of the pessimi.st. 
A kindlier philosophy would bury the bad deeds of man and 
give an endless immortality to his good ones. This is the 
opinion of the optimist, and it seems entirely in harmony with 
nature's teaching and the best thought of mankind. 



Address of Mr. Lever^ of South Carolina 17 

Yes, Mr. Speaker, I prefer to believe that real worth does 
not die, but lives on and ou, a rich and ever-increasing legacy 
for all men for all time. 

The pain of this occasion is somewhat soothed in the tliought 
that we are to deal with a character so full of good and so free 
from vice that what we shall say in praise of his virtues is 
the true expression of our real feelings and not the strained 
exaggeration of a mere eulog}-. 

As a friend, soldier, citizen, lawyer, and legislator George 
William Croft richly merits the highest tributes we can pay 
to departed greatness and goodness. 

He lived and labored in the most eventful period of our 
nation's history. 

Born at Newberry, S. C, December 20, 1S46, his youthful 
soul was, no doubt, filled with patriotic zeal as he listened to 
his elders recount the glorious achievements of the famous Pal- 
metto Regiment from Veracruz to the City of Mexico, over 
whose doomed walls its flag was the first to float in victory. 
He saw the rising storm between the two sections of our 
country, over irreconcilable differences, assume larger and 
larger proportions until it burst in its awful fury on that fateful 
morning, January 9, 1861, when from a battery on Morris 
Island, occupied by the Citadel Cadets, was fired the shot that 
unfurled the banner of a new nation and announced to the 
world the commencement of the bloodiest war in the annals of 
time. He suffered with his State all the horrors of the recon- 
-Struction era, and when it was ended caught step with the 
march of progress that has lifted her from the slough of ruin 
and de.spondencj- aud given her a commercial and industrial 
growth .so rapid as to be almost enough to challenge the cre- 
dulity of the most ardent dreamer. He saw the reconciliation 
between the sections made certain and complete, when, in 
mutual hatred of tyrainiy, the blue and gray joined hands and 
H. Doc. 470, 58-3 2 



1 8 Life and Character of Geoi'ge If. Croft 

hearts to crush into dust the power of despotism in Cuba, and 
when in the last agonies of dissohition he looked out over the 
capital, his eyes beheld, floating proudly and serenely in the 
morning breezes, the flag of a great people, reunited in com- 
mon purpose to make this the greatest nation on earth. 

Living thus in a period of our national life so pregnant with 
histor}', progress, and opportunity, it is not surprising that a 
man in whose soul burned ambition's flame should profit by 
the advantage of the situation to make for himself a niche in 
the temple of fame. 

Receiving his preparatory education in the conunon schools, 
the nursery of the nation's greatest and best men, at Green- 
ville, S. C where his parents had made their home, he 
entered the South Carolina Military Academy, and there 
expected to complete his academic studies. 

But, alas, the voice of his State called him from the quiet 
shades of college life to meet a sterner duty. 

The South, drained of men and resources, the incomparable 
Lee hard pressed in A'irginia, Atlanta fallen, and Johnston in 
dogged retreat, the cause of southern independence was des- 
perate, the sun of her hope fast growing into a precious 
memory of his once resplendent glory. Sherman's triumph- 
ant army reached the waters of the Savannah on February i, 
1865, and on the same da}' the hostile heel was planted upon 
the soil of South Carolina, whose defiant voice had called a 
nation into being. It was to meet this invasion, which 
afterwards turned itself into a saturnalia of horrors, that the 
schools and colleges and nurseries gave their precious charges 
to the State for her defense. The student became a .soldier, 
the beardless youth a brave defender of his State, a heroic 
sacrifice upon her altar. In response to this call young 
Croft, though only 16 >-ears old, donned for the first time the 



Address of Mr. Lever, of South Carolina ig 

Confederate uniform, and during the continuance of the strug- 
gle wore it with courage and credit. 

Mr. Speaker, when the history of chi\-alry and true courage 
shall iind an impartial author there will tie found in it no 
more inspiring chapter than that which recounts the deeds, 
the sacrifices, the suffering borne uncomplainingly, the des- 
perate gallantry and unmatched valor of the boy soldiery of 
the Confederacy. So long as hearts are responsive to noble 
sentiments the conduct of the boy soldier of the South in 
the most trying hour of his cotuitry's desperation will arouse 
patriotic inspiration and wring a tribute of respect from the 
meanest misanthrope. History furnishes no com]xirison. the 
fertile brain of the romancer invents no approximation, and 
the poet gives no equal to him. He is incomparable and 
stands alone, the best exemplification of moral and physical 
courage and patriotic devotion the world has ever seen. 

When peace again smiled over the land and time began 
her process of healing, young Croft resumed his studies, 
entering the Universit)' of Virginia, taking the course in 
law. Immediately after completing the course at the uni- 
versity he learned the practical side of his profession in the 
law office of Governor Benjamin F. Perry, himself a pro- 
found lawyer and a patriotic and farseeing statesman, who.se 
high character and unselfi.sh zeal in behalf of his conception 
of his country's best interest no doubt had a .salutary- effect 
in giving tendency to the mind and character of his promis- 
ing protege, whose career became a fitting tril)ute tu his 
great preceptor. 

In i86g he stood the bar examination and was admitted 
to practice in all the courts of the State, and for this jnir- 
pose he located in Aiken a year later, where he labored 
faithfully and earnestly the remainder of his life. 



20 Life and Character of George TV. Croft 

This was the darkest day in the civil life of the State; in truth, 
she was without civil life at all, and this was but the begin- 
ning of that six-year period of political night when unlicensed 
thievery and corruption held high carnival within her borders 
in the name of law and liberty, "when the South trod with 
unsandaled feet the burning marl of a political hell unparal- 
leled in all history." In her executive chair sat a political 
freebooter and thief from Ohio, and in her legislature illiter- 
ate negroes, former slaves, and white scalawags interpreted 
the principle of taxation as legislative license to confiscate 
private property for the benefit of the legislator. With the 
strong official arm thus against her, with the wounds of war 
still bleeding, the flower of her splendid manhood filling 
soldiers' graves, her agricultural and industrial wealth repre- 
sented by smoldering ashes and silent chimneys, her chief 
source of labor demoralized and intolerant with the impudence 
of newborn power, the majesty of her law cru.shed and out- 
raged, and life, liberty, and property iii-secure, the prospect 
was sufficient to chill the ardor of the rosiest optimi.st. 

Mr. Croft was not only a pronotuiced optimist, but a man 
of infinite courage and caution. For him gloom had no terrors, 
and seemingly insurmountable difficulties did not shake his 
abiding faith in the ultimate triumph of right over might. 
Through the darkness he saw the dawning of a fairer day for 
Carolina, when banished reason should return to her throne, 
when intelligence and integrity should sit in her council cham- 
bers, and when justice should once again hokl the .scales and 
pronounce judgment between man and man. 

The conduct of the alien rulers became so monstrously outra- 
geous, so indecent, and so disregardful of personal and property 
rights that the crushed spirit of the Anglo-Saxon could bear it 
no longer, and then began that memorable struggle between the 



Address of Mr. Lcvci\ of South Carolina 21 

forces of light and the forces of darkness, between inteUigence 
and ignorance, between education, cuUure, and refinement on the 
one side, and ilHteracy, unbridled force, and impudence on the 
other — a contest in which the shibboleth was white supremacy 
and an honest administration of the affairs of the Government. ' 

The culmination and the victory came in 1S76, when Gen. 
Wade Hampton, hero alike in war and in peace, was elected 
governor. In that mighty conflict Captain Croft bore a most 
conspicuous and honorable part, and was intrusted with the 
important place of chairman of his county executive commit- 
tee — a position well fitted for his .sagacity, courage, and caution. 
No young man of the State contributed more to her redemption 
than did he. As captain of the Aiken \'olunteers, an organi- 
zation composed of the best of the county's young manhood, he 
participated in the unfortunate Ellenton riots, where his con- 
duct was of such a manly and humane character as to extort a 
word of commendation from the trial judge of those white men. 
Captain CkofT among them, who had been thrown into a Fed- 
eral prison because of their connection with the affair. 

A product of the antebellum South, he did not waste his 
talents pining over an irrevocable past, but, acconnnodating 
himself to the changed conditions and new requirements, took 
his place in the forefront of that army of progress whose mate- 
rial victories in the brief space of a generation have made the 
South blos.som as a rose and given her place of \'antage in the 
race for indu.strial and commercial leadership. 

As a business man Mr. Ckoft was in measure successful, 
and accumulated a modest competency. 

As a lawyer he stood at the very top of the profes.sion, anil 
was for many years president of the bar a.s.sociation of South 
Carolina, a position attained only by the most preeminent mem- 
bers of the profession. 



22 Life and Cliaractcr of George Ji'^. Croft 

His practice was large, perhaps the largest of au}' lawyer in 
that part of the State. His intense fidelity to his clients, his 
fairness to his antagonists, and his high conception of justice 
won the respect and confidence of all who came in contact with 
him. Men with large business interests involved in litigation 
felt safe in putting them into his keeping; the poor, miserable 
wretch, charged with crime, and seeking justice, liberty, or 
life, felt half the burden ri.se from his shoulders when he suc- 
ceeded in placing the powerful personality of Mr. Croft be- 
tween him and ruin, and those unfortunate charges upon char- 
ity, when in trouble, always bent their .steps toward his office, 
where a willing ear listened to their .sad stories, and a generous 
hand filled their pockets, or a great and busy man lent himself 
to go to their defense in court if need be. He was as gener- 
ous as he was just and received his reward in the universal 
love of a great people. So fair and just was he in the conduct 
of a case that his victories came to him without arousing the 
resentment and l)itterness of tho.se he vanquished, and his long 
service at the bar, where he was engaged on one side or the 
other of every important case tried in his count}' for a genera- 
tion, left him without personal enemies. 

He combined in an unusual degree the elements both of the 
office lawyer and the advocate. His carefully trained mind 
was at once analytical and comprehensive, his judgment sound, 
and his conclusions logical and incontrovertible. As a prac- 
tical business adviser, dealing with intricate business proposi- 
tions, he took first rank, while his calm persuasive manners, 
his easy, graceful style, his dispa.ssionate and dignified deliv- 
ery, his soft, mu.sical voice, his power of happj* expression, 
his genial, wholesome humor, his wide learning, and intense 
earnestness made him an almost irresistible force before a 
jury and gave him ]ilace among the first orators of the State. 



Address of Mr. Lcc'cr, of So lit /i Carolina 23 

Himself candid and open, he despised hypocris>- and shams 
and was merciless in uncovering and destroying- them, and it 
is said that on occasions his denunciations of treachery and 
falsehood on the part of witnesses or litigants reached the 
point of comparison with the best examples of vehement elo- 
([uence. But it was in appealing to the gentler and finer feel- 
ings of the heart that he was greatest as an orator, and many 
are the audiences from which his touching pathos has brought 
the unbidden tear. He himself was gentle, sj-mpathetic, senti- 
mental, and his manner was such as to impress >ou with the 
thought that here is a man in whose breast beats a heart 
devoid of guile and incapable of any other than noble purposes. 

All in all, he was a great lawyer, a credit to any bar, and an 
honor to his profession. 

For a man of such eminent aljility and worth and per.sonal 
popularity his legislative experience was comparatively limited, 
and is covered by two terms in the State legislature, one year in 
the State senate, and his brief service in this body. Always an 
active and earnest participant in every movement looking to 
the welfare of the State, always alert to combat and arrest any 
tendencj' calculated to do her injury or stay her progress, 
always taking an intelligent interest in every public question, 
especially if it concerned the more unfortunate class of the 
people, he .seems never to have been possessed with any sjiecial 
desire for public positions. His conscientious belief in the now 
antiquated idea that political preference should be the volun- 
tary expression of public confidence, coupled with an innate 
modesty and love for his profession, deprived the State of 
many years of his valuable service which a confiding people 
were only too willing she should have. 

Brief as was his public service, it was sufficiently long to 
make for him an enviable reputation as a wise, faithful, 



24 Life and Character of George }]'. Croft 

earnest, and patriotic legislator. He approached every public 
question with the utmost deliberation, and without bias, in 
an endeavor to so act as to bring the best results for the State. 
Jealous of the correctness of his own judgment, his pride of 
opinion was not permitted to stand between him and what was 
proven best for the interest of all the people. Per.sonal ambi- 
tion and selfishness were subordinated to the public good. He 
was not a demagogue, and refu.sed to play for public applause. 
To do the right was the end and aim of his public life. His 
coworkers recognized him as a safe, conserv^ative, wise coun- 
selor, whose advice was much .sought and whose opinions were 
worth serious consideration. He was a leader both in the .sen- 
ate and house of South Carolina, and, no doubt, if a diiTerent 
fate had been his, would have taken high rank in this body. 

His most conspicuous contribution to wi.se and enduring 
legislation is his authorship of the first law in South Carolina 
prohibiting child labor in cotton mills. The effort to legislate 
in accordance with conditions as they aro.se met with strong 
and bitter opposition from powerful influences. To affirm 
that the State had an interest in and therefore a right to 
protect its children against a sy.stem which denied them fresh 
air and sunshine and immunit>' from a grinding toil that 
sapped their vitality, distorted their intellects, warped their 
souls, and made life merely an existence, without a hope, 
without a promise of better reward for faithful service, met 
a most violent and relentless opposition from that class 
which, actuated either by ignorance or greed, could see 
nothing in the tender lives of the children of the State than 
their capacity for earning a dollar. 

Against this powerful opposition George W. Croft hurled 
himself, and fought it with a power and el()i|uence conceived 



Address of Mr. Lever, of Sou t/i Carolina 25 

in the justness of his cause and deHvered out of a great love 
for the permanent welfare of his State. His speech closing 
the debate in favor of the bill is without question one of the 
greatest appeals ever made to a South Carolina legislature. 
What seemed certain defeat for the cause of the children 
was turned into victory by his masterful presentation of it, 
and when all else he ever accomplished shall be forgotten 
his service in this connection will be remembered in gratitude, 
and will stand as an imperishable moiuiment to his eloquence 
and his wisdom as a legislator. 

The prestige gained by his leadership in this contest, the 
universal acknowledgment of his ability, jiatriotism, and per- 
sonal character by the people and the press of the State, 
made his promotion to a wider field of u.sefulness a foregone 
conclusion, and in 1902, after a sharp contest with two of 
the ablest men of the State for the nomination of his party, 
he was successful, and the choice of the jiarty was ratified 
in his election to the Fifty-eighth Congre.ss. 

In his short service here he made a most favorable impres- 
sion upon all who came in contact with him. His pleasant 
address, his eagerness to learn, his quiet, unassuming, though 
dignified, bearing conunanded the admiration of all, and the 
future seemed full of promise for a career of great credit to 
himself and value to the nation. But, alas, how uncertain 
are human calculations; how frail are the foundations upon 
which it builds I We are but weak children of an all-powerful, 
all-.seeing, all-knowing Father, who.se will, not ours, must be 
done. The day and the hour had come when life's account 
had to be balanced and the deeds done in the body passed 
upon by the court of la.st appeal. To this bar of final judg- 
ment our friend was called March 10, 1904, and he re.sponded 



26 Life and CJiaractcr of George IV. Croft 

with calm, Christian fortitude. "He fell in the fullness of 
his fame," when the sun of life shoue brightest, and each 
day gave promise of a better morrow. The trials and 
vicissitudes of life ended, the battle fought, the victory won, 
he sleeps in the .soil of the State and among the people he 
loved and honored. 



Add?-css of Mr. Firiick, of Idaho 2J 



Address of Mr. French, of Idaho 

Mr. Speaker: I arise to offer a word on that which has 
impressed me most in the hfe of him whom we commemorate- 
It was not my privilege to know tlie deceased well. Geokce 
William Crokt lived in a State far removed from the one 
that is m\- home. I met him shortly after Congress convened 
in the antnmn of 1903. He had jast been elected for the 
fir.st time to represent his district in the National House of 
Representatives.. 

Ovir work soon brought us together, and as the title of a 
book suggests the message that it bears, so a few general 
facts connected with the life of Mr. Croft told much that in 
eulogy has been spoken of him to-da>". 

A .soldier in the Army, fighting for the principles he loved; 
a member for two sessions of the lower branch of the State 
legislature; a member of the State senate: a Member of Con- 
gress; president of the bar association of his Connnonwealth; 
leader in pul)lic affairs and active participant in the politics 
of his State — these are captions which, when applied to a 
man who has passed the meridian of life and which have 
attended him from early manhood, suggest bravery, courage, 
ability, learning, penseverance, honor. 

I shall not dwell further on those qualities which, popu- 
larh- speaking, make success in life possible. I would speak 
of a qualit\- of heart and soul that wliile it aids in all suc- 
cess yet towers above all other attributes and has for its 
chiefest object the enriching not of self, but of others. 
Mr. Croft possessed that kindly sympathy that made him 



28 Life and Character of George If. Croft 

understand the sorrow, the joy, the soul movements of his 
fellow-man. 

It made him understand the boy's delights and hopes. It 
made him feel the vigor of noble manhood .struggling for 
achievement. It made him know the emotions and reflections 
of him whom age has bowed. 

It was that sympathy that prompted him, in the first act 
that came within my ob.servation, to reach out his hand 
and aid in placing a boy, struggling amid difficulties, in a 
position where he could realize his life's dream. It was 
that .sympathy that impelled him throughout life to lay 
personal ambition aside and sa}-, "My friend first." It 
was that sympath>- that as a boy was shown to two old 
slaves upon his father's plantation, a .sympathy that prompted 
them in return to journey a distance of 60 miles to rejoice 
with their young master of fifty years ago in the honor' his 
district had conferred upon him in electing him to Congress. 
Sixty miles in Pullman coach is a short distance, but to 
two old men who had seen plantation life before the war 
with a kind master and free from care it was a memorable 
journe)-. 

It was that sympathy shown through many years to those 
of high and low estate that made them, when he had fallen 
stricken at his post of duty and his ca.sket was brought 
back to the door of his home, bear his body, as it were, in 
the arras of all, to its resting place. 

The streets of Aiken were not lined with people from idle 
curiosity. The chtirch was not crowded with strangers and 
those irreverent, but with neighbors and with friends who 
lo\-ed him for what he was. The .sorrow that spoke so elo- 
quently on every hand was mindful of a man rich in power 
and author of large public deeds; yet, mo.st of all, it told 



Address of Mr. French, of Idaho 29 

of one whose daily life was an inspiration; whose hand- 
shake was an expression of good will; whose greeting was 
a perennial benediction. 

Great legislative bodies have adjourned out of respect to 
the memory of a man eminent in statecraft; flags have laeen 
placed at half-mast when he has fallen who has led armies 
to battle; days have been set apart for mourning by execu- 
tive bidding in honor of those whom history calls great; 
but the tears that flow from children's eyes and the sobs 
that burst from the lips of the lowly tell of the worth of 
a man and tell as words can not tell of the tenderness and 
sympathy which, more than all else, make souls of mortal 
akin to power divine. 

Such is my humble tribute to the memory of our late 
friend and colleague, George William Ckoft. 



30 Life and Character of George IV. Croft 



Address of Mr. Johnson, of South Carolina 

Mr. Speaker: We are assembled on this beautiful, holy 
day, in the House of Representatives, not to engage in keen, 
cutting, acrimonious debate, not to discuss great questions of 
state, but to pay the last fond, deserved tribute of respect to 
our deceased colleague, George William Croft, late the 
Representative in this body from the Second Congressional 
district of South Carolina. It is fit and meet that we should 
cherish the memory and emulate the example of such as 
have made themselves eminent and conspicuous in good 
words, good works, and high character. 

George Willi.'vm Croft, the subject of this memorial 
occasion, was born in Newburg, S. C, December 20, 1846. 
After attending the .schools of his count}- he entered the 
South Carolina Military Academy at Charleston, where lie 
remained for three years, during which time he pursued his 
studies with painstaking fidelit\-. This was during the most 
stubborn and sanguinary conflict in modern times. The 
South being hard pressed, young Croft, like thousands of 
other boys of tender age but patriotic zeal, offered his young 
life on the altar of his country. The student's cap was 
doffed, the soldier's uniform was donned. When that great 
struggle was over and the South had lost all save honor; 
when the Stars and Bars went down before superior numbers 
and more abundant re.sources; when the "bonnie blue flag" 
was furled and its silken folds could no more kiss the morn- 
ing sunbeams of our Southern clime, the manly soldier boy 
again became the student. He completed his education at 



Address of Mr. Joliiisoii, of South Carolina 31 

the University of \'irginia and settled at Aiken, S. C, for 
the practice of his chosen profession — the law. The first few- 
years of his professional life were the darkest days in the 
history of our vState. Here and now I shall not enter into 
details. After the long, dark night came a brighter morn. 
In 1876 Wade Hampton, assisted by able lieutenants like 
George W. Croft, noted for their courage, their caution, 
and judgment, by a bloodless revolution, but nevertheless a 
revolution the like of which no State in this I'nion ever had, 
redeemed the proud old State. In that struggle every Caro- 
linian did his duty: but few did as much as Mr. Croft. 

As a lawj-er Mr. Croft attained preeminent success. His 
clientage was large, and he was zealous, faithful, and efficient. 
As an evidence of his high character and ability, he was for 
several years president of the South Carolina Bar Association, 
a position of honor given only to such as are distinguished for 
their legal ability and noted for their high character. 

The people of Aiken County expres.sed their appreciation of 
and their confidence in him by sending him both to the house 
of representatives aud the State senate of South Carolina. 
Having shown himself faithful in every trust, the people of the 
Second Congressional di.strict elected him to the Fifty-eighth 
Congress. In entering this body, where intellectual giants and 
gladiators have met, his legal attainments, his legislative expe- 
rience, his literary culture, his high character, as.sured him a 
career of great u.sefulness, influence, power. His horizon to 
our ken .seemed to widen, broaden; but an all-wi.se and all-good 
Providence decreed otherwi.se. After only a few weeks here 
the final summons came. Croft, so often the advocate of his 
fellows, appeared with the Advocate divine; Croft, the law- 
maker, appeared before the great Lawgiver; Ckoft, who had 
so often and eUxjuenth- jileaded in chancery for righteous 



32 Life and Character of George W. Croft 

decrees, appeared before the Perfect Chancellor to receive his 
final decree. 

Mr. Speaker, these memorial exercises in honor of the dead 
should impress the li\-ing and teach us how to live. The angel 
of death comes with unerring and equal pace to the cottage 
and to the palace. He claims for his own the old, the middle- 
aged, the young. Dives in his purple and Lazarus in his rags 
can not escape his touch. At the final .summons the orator 
ceases to be eloquent, the philosopher ceases to be wi.se, and the 
giant is shorn of his strength. It is the beginning and the end — 
the end of this life of probation, the beginning of a higher, bet- 
ter life. "That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it 
die, and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that 
shall be." In Christian faith and courage let us live on and 
work on, not .seeking nor yet fearing the final summons. Let 
each say and feel with Adams: 

My last great wish, absorbing all, 

Is, when beneath the sod 
And summoned to my final call, 

Prepared to meet my God. 



Address of Mr. Aiken, of Soiitli Carolina 33 



Address of Mr. Aiken, of South Carolina 

Mr. Speaker: We are again assembled to conimeniorate the 
virtues and recount the services of one of our number who has 
passed within the dark and mysterious shadow. The frequent 
recurrence of such occasions carries with it a solemn lesson. 
In the death of our late lamented friend, Hon. George W. 
Croft, March 10, 1904, there is that which mystifies and 
appalls the finite mind. Scarcely had his feet pres.sed the goal 
of ambition, where ripened ability promised nio.st, and where 
the desire of a lifetime seemed within easy reach, when he was 
called from time to eternity. Like the great lawgiver of 
Israel, he threaded hfe's circuitous path, and at its end "fell 
on sleep," with but a glimpse of that which ambition had 
co\-eted and devotion to duty had won. 

From the standpoint of human judgment the death of this 
distinguished .son of South Carolina, when life's fruition, 
golden and abundant, was in his very grasp, was untimely, for 
it is with reluctance that man plucks the rose half blown or 
the apple just touched with the blush of autumn. But in the 
broader .sense that our earthly existence is, in comparison with 
the Great Beyond, what an atom is to the universe, what a 
tiny spark is to the eternal stars, we realize only too fully that 
the lives of the noblest of earth's sons weigh but lightly in the 
.scales of eternity. We realize that life is but a preparation 
for death and that death is the door that closes on .scenes of 
care and sorrow to open in the reahn of everlasting peace. 
And He who called us into being, and who marks the way along 
which our faltering steps are taken, knows best where the 
journey should end. 

H. Doc. 470, 58-3 3 



34 Life and Character of George W. Croft 

While our hearts are bowed under the weight of sorrow, 
'tis but human to lament the Providence that has left us 
lonel)' ; yet we should look beyond the grave to that higher 
life, where Death's stealthy tread is dreaded no more forever. 

Longfellow expresses this thought beautifully in those oft- 
quoted lines : 

Life is real! life is earnest! 

And the grave is not its goal; 
Dust thou art, to dust returnest, 

Was not spoken of the soul. 

It is but fitting, Mr. Speaker, that here, at the very foun- 
tain head of a temporal power .second to none on earth, we 
pause with uncovered heads to acknowledge the will of Him 
before whom kings have trembled and empires crumbled into 
dust. And, too, it is but a just tribute to the memory of our 
departed friend to recount and spread upon our records those 
virtues and traits of character which marked him a man 
amongst men. The highest ideals of this and future genera- 
tions are drawn from the biography of tho.se who have passed 
into hi.story. 

Mr. Croft was born in Newberry County, S. C, December 
20, 1846. In 1863 he entered the South Carolina Military 
Academy. He had been there but a year when he left the 
college walls for the tented field. All the fires of patriotism 
that burned in his .soul were stirred when the Army of the 
West, spreading fire and desolation in its wake, threatened 
the homes and firesides of those he loved. Though but a 
lad, he freely offered his young life to his country, and con- 
tinued in her service until the curtain fell upon that terrible 
scene of fratricidal strife. 

Nor was he less devoted to his State in the dark days 
immediately following the war. Realizing that the situation 



Address of Mr. Aiken, of Soii/Ji Carolhia 35 

could be controlled and the honor of the State saved only by 
the mailed hand, that the best interests of white and black 
alike rested in white supremacy, he willingly jeopardized life 
and liberty to remove the rule of the carpetbagger and the 
ignorant negro, drunk with the lust of power. Above the 
law of the land, which knew not or understood not conditions 
in the prostrate State, he heard the appeal of that higher 
law which would protect property from confiscation and the 
home from scenes of murder and rapine. It was during this 
period that, as captain of the Palmetto Rifles, an organization 
of his county, he quelled the bloody riots at Ellenton, dis- 
persing the black hordes assembled in a spirit of violence 
and destruction. 

In 1866 and 1867 Mr. Croft attended the Univensity of 
Virginia. Subsequenth' he studied law under Governor Perry 
and settled at Aiken about the time that county was formed. 

He has been a prominent figure in South Carolina politics 
for many years, having sen-ed with distinguished ability in 
both branches of the legislature. 

So short was his service in Congress that I deem it not 
improper to refer specifically to one of the crowning efforts 
of his ser\'ice in the State legi-slature. It was in advocacy of 
a law^ prohibiting the employment of child labor in cotton 
mills. I am sorry that I can not recall, literally, extracts 
from that eloquent appeal. He drew a picture of the attenu- 
ated form and pallid face of the child operative, prematurely 
old. He pleaded with his colleagues not to allow the God- 
given graces of youth to be effaced by the thoughtless .spirit 
of commercialism. He urged that education alone meant 
white supremacy, and that any policy which deprived the 
white child of this advantage was suicidal to his race. While 
we do not vouch for the legality of his ]x)sition, it is but just 



36 Life and Character of George JT. Croft 

to say that it finally met the approval of a majority of his 

colleagues. 

The following extract from the Barnwell People, one of the 

leading papers of the vState, throws further light upon this 

period of his career: 

As usual, his advent to the legislature placed him in the forefront of 
action by his apt and powerful presentation of the questions which he 
advocated. The State newspaper denominated him "a powerful and elo- 
quent defender of the rights of the common people." He was prominent 
in representing the interests of the people in the reform antitrust laws 
before the legislature. He championed the child-labor bill in a speech 
which was a masterpiece in logic and information, creating a profound 
impression, it being the leading speech against the employment in cotton 
mills and factories of children under T2 years of age. 

Mr. Croft was elected to the Fifty-eighth Congress from 
the Second district in 1902. and his record here, all too short, 
is before you. 

A distinguishing characteristic which marked Mr. Croft's 
career was a clear-cut, well-defined sense of duty. Throughout 
his life he never subordinated principle to expediency. As a 
citizen he was uniformly courteous and gentle, kind and affec- 
tionate at home, and loyal to his friends always. As a lawyer 
he was the peer of the best talent. As an orator, imbued with 
a deep sense of sympathy for his kind, his utterances were 
from heart to heart, logical, convincing, eloquent. 

It was my good fortune to have known the deceased inti- 
mately for a number of years, and I feel that iu his death I 
have lo.st a true friend. It is, however, this close totich with 
the dread enemy that checks us in the mad rush of life. While 
we contemplate this career, so fresh in our memories, so full of 
promise of even more glorious service, and yet so abruptly 
terminated, are we not reminded that we, too, must .soon 
be submerged by the ever-approaching wave? We are too 



Address of Mr. Aiki-ii, of SoittJi Carolina 37 

prone to shut our ears to tlie sound of the breakers in the 
distance. 

We see Time's furrows on another's brow, 
And Death intrench'd, preparing his assault; 
How few themselves in that just mirror see ! 

The Speaker pro tempore (Mr. Finlev). The question is 
on the adoption of the resolutions. 
The resolutions were agreed to. 



PROCEEDINGS IN THE SENATE 

March io. 1904. 
death of representative croft, 

A message from the House of Representatives, by Mr. \V. J. 
Browning, its Chief Clerk, comnumicated to the Senate the 
intelhgence of the death of Hon. G. W. Ckoft, late a Repre- 
sentative from the State of South Carolina, and transmitted 
resolutions of the House thereon. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The re.solutions were read, as follows: 

In the House of Represent.\tives, 

March 10. rgo4. 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives lias heard with profound 
sorrow of the death of the Hon. G. W.- Croft, a Representative from the 
State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That the Speaker appoint a committee of thirteen members 
to attend the funeral .services. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect to the memory oi the 
deceased member the House do now adjourn. 

The message stated that the Speaker had appointed Mr. Fin- 
ley, Mr. Aiken, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Legare, Mr. Scarborough, 
Mr. Lever, Mr. Loudenslager, Mr. Patterson of Pennsylvania, 
Mr. Richardson of Alabama, Mr. McLain, Mr. Houston, Mr. 
Sibley, Mr. Weisse, and Mr. Jackson of Ohio members of the 
committee on the part of the House. 

Mr. Latimer. Mr. President, I pre.sent the resolutions 

which I send to the desk, and ask unanimous con.sent for their 

present con.sideration. 

39 



40 Proceedings in tlir Senate 

The President pro tempore. The Senator from South 
CaroHna submits resolutions, which will be read. 
The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with deep sorrow the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. George W. CroFT, late a Representative of 
the Second district of the State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That a committee of six Senators be appointed by the Presi- 
dent pro tempore to join a committee on the part of the House of Repre- 
sentatives to take order for superintending the funeral of the deceased. 

Resolved, That the Senate comnmnicate these resolutions to the House 
of Representatives. 

The President pro tempore. Will the Senate agree to the 
resolution s? 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to. ^ 

The President pro tempore appointed as the committee on 
the part of the vSenate, under the second resolution, Mr. Till- 
man, Mr. Latimer, Mr. Fultou, Mr. Clarke of Arkansas, Mr. 
Hopkins, and Mr. McLauriu. 

Mr. Latimer. Mr. President, I move, as a further mark 
of respect to the memory of the deceased, that the Senate do 
now adjourn. 

The motion was unanimousl}- agreed to; and (at 4 o'clock 
and 42 minutes p. m. ) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, 
Friday, March 11, 1904, at 12 o'clock meridian. 

February 27, 1905. 
message from the house. 

The message further transmitted resolutions of the House 
commemorative of the life and public services of Hon. George 
W. Croft, late a Representative from the State of South 
Carolina. 



Memorial addresses 

March i, 1905. 

Mr. Latimer. I ask that the resolutions of the House of 
Repre.sentatives in relation to the death of my late colleague 
in that body may be laid before the Senate. 

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Kean in the chair). The 
resolutions of the House of Representatives will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In the House of Represent.\tives, 

Frbriiaiy 26, icfos- 

Resolird, That in pursuance of the special order heretofore adopted, 
the House now proceed to pay tribute to the memorv of Hon. GEORGE 
W. Croft, late a Member of this House from the State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, and in recognition of his distinguished public career, the House, 
at the conclusion of the exercises to-day, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk send a copy of these resolutions to the family 
of the deceased. 

Mr. Latimer. Mr. President, I offer the resolutions which 
I send to the desk. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, and the Senate pro- 
ceeded to their consideration, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow of the death 
of Hon. George \Vili.i.^M Croft, late a Member of the House of Rep- 
resentatives from the State of South Carolina. 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended in order 
that a fitting tribute may be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect the Senate shall, at the 
conclusion of these ceremonies, adjourn. 

41 



42 Life and Character of George W. Croft 



Address of Mr. Latimer, of South Carouna 

Mr. President: The great pressure of unfinished business' 
upon the remaining time of the Senate, and the lateness of the 
hour, forbids a lengthy eulogy of the character and accom- 
plishments of the late distinguished Member of the House in 
whose memory these exercises are held. 

It is fitting, however, Mr. President, that we should pause 
for a moment to pay our tribute of respect to one who was, 
only a year ago, a fellow-worker with us. The passing away 
from the activities, ambitions, and hopes of this world of one 
and another of our friends and colleagues from time to time 
should give us pause and serve to turn our minds to a not far 
distant time when we too must lay down all that pertains to 
this life. We are too apt to forget our mortality in the strife 
for the rewards of the world, the attainment of ambitions, and 
the nuiltitude of desires that cause men to care to live. The 
passing away of friends, an event inevitable, but nevertheless 
sad and .sorrowful, should wrench our minds from these earthly 
endeavors and place them upon things not of this world, and 
in the contemplation of their characters and virtues, as well as 
their frailties and weaknesses, we .should find examples to be 
emulated or pitfalls to be avoided. 

Mr. President, there was nothing in the life and character of 
George Willi.^m Croft, so far as I know or have heard the 
story of his life, whicli was not lofty and worthy'of emulation. 
His life was one of bra\-e and earnest endeavor to uplift him- 
self and his fellow-men. He was born in Newberry County, 
S. C, on the 20th day of December, 1846, and died in this 



Address of Mr. Latimer, of Soidli Carolina 43 

cit}-, as a Member of the House of Representatives, March 
10, 1904. He received his earlj^ education at the South 
CaroHna MiHtary Academy, from which school he was nnis- 
tered into the Confederate army at the age of 16 and served 
until the close of the war. He then took a course of study 
at the University of Virginia for two years, and at the age 
of 23 was admitted to the bar and began the practice of his 
profession at Aiken, S. C, which was to be his home until 
his death. The principal achievements of Colonel Croft 
were in his chosen profes.siou. He became one of the lead- 
ing lawyers of his State, and during the latter years of his 
life was engaged on one .side or the other of nearly every 
important case in his section of the State. He was a man 
of strong character, who dared to do the right at all times, 
and who never swerved from the course pointed out to him 
by his conscience. He had a lovable disposition and was 
deservedly popular wherever he was known. This popularity 
and his well-known fitne.ss and ability led to his election to 
the Fifty-eighth Congre.ss. 

His service in the House was very brief, yet during the 
time he was there he had laid the foundations for a useful 
and active career. He made friends easily, and by means 
of his engaging characteristics was btiilding up a valuable 
asset to a successful career in the Hoti.se — that of a wide 
circle of personal friends. He was also fitting himself by 
the acquisition of the parliamentary knowledge and u.sage so 
necessarj- to a Congressional career. His was a steady, 
energetic, and unswerving purpose to do something for his 
country and his own fame, and there can be no doubt that, 
had he lived, he would have made himself strongly felt here, 
and that his political future would have been rewarded by 
the highest honors his State could confer upon him. 



44 /,{/?' and Character of George If^. Croft 

But these things were not to be. All his prospects were 
blighted and dissipated hy his untimely taking off. He 
developed blood poisoning from an insignificant hurt, and 
after much patient suffering, and with a fortitude horn of a 
strong spirit, he met his death without fear. 

Mr. President, it is with much sorrow for the untimely 
death of my friend, and a heartfelt and sincere admiration 
for the many qualities and traits of character and disposition 
that made him loved by all who knew him and won for him 
distinction in his profession and honor among and from the 
people of his State that I move the adoption of the reso- 
lutions. 

The Presiding Officer. The question is on agreeing to 
the resolutions submitted by the Senator from South Carolina. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to; and (at lo 
o'clock and 36 minutes p. m.) the Senate adjourned until 
to-morrow, Thursday, March 2, 1905, at 11 o'clock a. m. 



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